Al-Ameed Journal for Medical Research and Health Sciences

Background: Emergence of anti-microbial resistance represents a serious challenge to public health and the global
economy, creating an urgent need for searching of new anti-microbial agents.
Objective: To investigate the antibacterial activity of Cornulaca moncantha ethanolic root extract against multidrug
resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococci.
Material and methods: The ethanolic extract of Cornulaca moncantha roots was prepared using a Soxhalet apparatus. Phytochemical screening was performed via standard qualitative tests (alkaloids with Mayer's test, tannins with ferric chloride, flavonoids with Shinoda test, and saponins with foam test). The plant antibacterial activity as well as susceptibility of antibiotic against bacteria were evaluated using agar well diffusion besides disc diffusion methods.
Results: Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins and flavonoids in Cornulaca moncantha
extract. The extract demonstrated potent antibacterial activity against bacteria compared to all tested antibiotics except vancomycin, exhibiting an inhibition zone of 22 mm versus vancomycin 20 mm. Notably, the antibiotic susceptibility test revealed that the bacteria were highly sensitive to vancomycin and resistant to other antibiotics.
Conclusions: Cornulaca moncantha exhibited antibacterial activity and might serve as a potential candidate for controlling and treating infections caused by coagulase-negative Staphylococci.

Objectives: The goal of the current study was to use psychological development in toddlers and preschoolers to predict autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It was also looked at how sex differences affected ASD.
Methods: In this study (Case-Control), a purposive sample of 100 Children from the Karbala province-Iraq, ranging in
age from 2 to 7, took part. There were two groups: 50 healthy Children (Control group) and 50 Children with ASD (Test
group). To gauge the child's aptitude and response for communication and social interaction, the psychological development questionnaire-1 (PDQ-1) was used.
Results: The present study's sample was categorized into 2 groups, control and test groups. According to the PDQ-1
results, healthy children scored 16.16 ± 1.78 (Mean ± SD). Children with ASD received a score of 7.02 ± 2.97
(Mean ± SD). Two-tailed unpaired t-test results revealed significant differences between healthy and ASD children
(P < 0.001), healthy & ASD males (P ¼ 0.041), healthy & ASD females (P < 0.001), and ASD males & ASD females
(P < 0.01). The Spearman correlation coefficient (SCC) was carried out to calculate the correlations (r) between PDQ-1
scores of ASD males and ASD females. The results showed that there were statistically significant differences between them (P < 0.01).
Conclusion: The PDQ-1 may be used as a reliable screener for ASD in toddlers and preschoolers. When assessing ASD, sex differences should be considered.

Introduction: To study the association between breastfeeding practices and the risk reduction of childhood leukemia
and identify the ideal duration for breastfeeding duration for infants’ health, a case-control study was conducted
involving children aged 0-16 years with leukemia and a control group.
Methods: The study examined breastfeeding duration, type of feeding in the first six months, maternal characteristics
(age, education, smoking during pregnancy, history of abortion, birth control pill use), and child-related variables (sex,
age at diagnosis, and birth order). Data analysis was conducted using SPSS Version 27 and employing odds ratio and
95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically Significant.
Results: A study analyzed 100 leukemia cases and 100 controls, having similar mean ages (5.05 ± 3.433 vs. 5.84 ± 3.404) and male participants (63 % vs. 57 %), to assess breastfeeding's impact on leukemia risk in children. The study found no significant associations between leukemia and factors like smoking during pregnancy (5 % of cases vs. 3 % of controls), abortion history (45 % in both groups), birth control pill use (22 % vs. 34 %), and age group of 2e5 years (68 % vs. 54 %). However, A significant association was found with maternal education (p ¼ 0.001); 39 % of case mothers had primary education, while 52 % of control mothers had intermediate or higher education. Exclusive breastfeeding was higher in controls (53 %) than cases (28 %) (p < 0.001), while formula feeding was more common in cases (57 %) than controls (33 %). Shorter breastfeeding (<6 months) was more common in cases (56 %) than controls (31 %) (p ¼ 0.001), while >12 months was higher in controls (32 %) than cases (16 %). Maternal education and longer breastfeeding inversely correlated with leukemia risk. Logistic regression supported the protective effect of exclusive breastfeeding (OR ¼ 0.501, p < 0.001) and >12 months duration (OR ¼ 0.721, p ¼ 0.001).
Conclusion: This study highlights that exclusive and prolonged breastfeeding protects against childhood leukemia.
Maternal education plays a role in reducing the frequency of leukemia, thus emphasizing the importance of maternal
awareness and health education. However, smoking during pregnancy, history of abortion, and birth control use showed no significant associations.

Study design: A Grounded Theory Methodology is employed to investigate the study phenomenon. The entire study
started from Jan. 15th. 2021 to March, 1st. 2022.
Aim: The study is conducted to explore the concepts that shape the experience of living with disability among patients
with spinal cord injury, and to formulating a grounded theory regarding nursing care for patients with spinal cord
injuries.
Setting: The study is conducted in Ibn Alkuf Hospital for Spinal Cord Injuries, Baghdad, Iraq.
Methods: A non-probability purposive sampling technique was used to select (12) patients with chronic (more than 5
years) spinal cord injury. The purposive sampling is used to reach data. Additionally, the sample size is justified after the full saturation of data is achieved. All patients are continuing with a rehabilitation program in the hospital. The
researcher uses an open-ended question to explore how the patients are lived with their disability.
Results: The study results show that the patients had to live with their disability with some limitations to recover.
There are four major categories explaining the way by which the patients lived with their disability, these categories are as follows: A devastating life-altering situation, standing up to difficulties, passing forward in the Society, and social withdrawing.
Conclusions: The study concludes that the devastating life-altering situation, standing up to difficulties, and passing
forward in the society, and social withdrawing and its related sub-categories are major concepts describing patients’
living with their disability after spinal cord injury.

Background: Cephalosporins are a group of antibacterial agents related to the β-lactam group, which are used in the
treatment of many types of infections. Cephalosporins are a good choice of cost-effective antibacterial drugs, which are occasionally withheld from treatment strategies because of self-reported clinical histories of cephalosporin and penicillin allergy. Cephalosporin allergies are increasingly reported, with a wide spectrum of reactions. A patient with an allergy to a certain cephalosporin should not use that cephalosporin in the future. The risk of cross-reaction among
cephalosporins in patients with a history of sensitivity to certain cephalosporins is unknown.
Aim of study: To determine the value of the cephalosporin skin prick test in patients with a self-reported history of
cephalosporin allergy and to determine the correlation of cephalosporin skin prick test positive results with some
suggested variables.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on patients with a self-reported cephalosporin allergy at Al Fallujah Teaching Hospital for Maternity and Childhood, Iraq, between 1st of November 2022 and 1st of April 2023. Patients’ ages ranged from 1 month to 5 years. Patients underwent ceftriaxone skin prick tests. Patients who used antihistamine drugs before the skin prick test were excluded. Erythema and wheal areas >5 £ 5 mm were considered
positive.
Results: The prick test was positive in 60.8 % of children with allergy symptoms and negative in 39.2 % of them. There
was a significant association between the cephalosporin-positive prick test and children with a history of self-detected allergy to cephalosporin use (p ¼ 0.01). Mothers’ educational level was a significant factor (p ¼ 0.03). A history of allergy to penicillin use is not significant in the cephalosporin-positive prick test. No significant differences were
observed between children with positive prick tests and children with negative prick tests regarding symptoms
(p ¼ 0.6) and duration (p ¼ 0.6). No significant p-value was observed between children with positive prick tests and
children with negative prick tests regarding age (p ¼ 0.9), gender (p ¼ 0.9), residence (p ¼ 0.9), and vaccination history
(p ¼ 0.4). No significant differences were observed between children with positive and negative prick test results
regarding family history of penicillin allergy (p ¼ 0.7) and other symptoms (p ¼ 0.5).
Conclusions: Ceftriaxone skin prick test is valuable for assessing ceftriaxone allergy in patients diagnosed based on
history alone. Cephalosporins appear to be a safe alternative for most patients with self-reported penicillin allergy;
however, further validation is needed. There was a significant relationship between the history described by educated
mothers and a positive ceftriaxone prick test.